Not sure if it applies to this thread, but I'm going to be getting the parts in on wednesday to build a Q9450/X48 system to compare it and the 9850 at crossfire and crossfire alone.

Intel system is...
Q9450 cooled by TRUE with Scythe Slipstream 1900rpm 110cfm
Asus Rampage Formula
Kingston 2x1gb DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15 1.8v
2x Sapphire 3870's in crossfire
Seagate Barracuda 250gb
Windows Vista Ultimate x86

AMD system is...
9850 BE (my week 811) cooled by TRUE with same fan
Asus M3A32-MVP Deluxe Wifi, bios 1101
Kingston 2x1gb DDR2-1066 5-5-5-15 1.8v
2x Sapphire 3870's in crossfire
Western Digital 250gb with perpendicular recording
Windows Vista Ultimate x86

Only differences will be the case, hd, and cd rom other than the necessary cpu/mobo in order to minimize variables. I'll just do tests at 2.66 and 3ghz because my board doesn't let me take the 9850 higher than 3ghz stable even though it does it at 1.325v.